British woman faces sentence in "naked slave" case

LONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters) A British woman will be sentenced today for turning her sister-in-law into a domestic slave, forcing her to do housework naked and beating her savagely.

Antonia Pearson-Gaballonie kept Veronica Sandeman as a slave, stabbed her with scissors and made her beg for food for several years.

Pearson-Gaballonie, 35, of York, was found guilty at York Crown Court in September of false imprisonment, making threats to kill and six counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm between 2002 and 2004. She had denied the charges.

Detective Inspector Nick Moore of North Yorkshire Police said Sandeman was ''black and blue'' from the beatings and curled up in the foetal position when she was found by police.

''She was an emotional and physical wreck,'' Moore told BBC television.

Pearson-Gaballonie, a mother of six, also claimed 10,000 pounds of disability benefits on behalf of her victim, claiming that Sandeman had a severe learning disability.

''She had no compassion for anyone but herself,'' Moore said of Pearson-Gaballonie.

Sandeman, now 26, was 17 when she first moved into Pearson-Gaballonie's household when the defendant was married to her brother.

Pearson-Gaballonie's current partner, Neil Pearson, 35, will also be sentenced after being found guilty of one count of aiding and abetting an assault. He had also denied the charges.

Reuters SBA VP0512